


Juggernaut

by Srash



Category: Deus Ex: Mankind Divided
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-05
Updated: 2020-09-06
Packaged: 2021-03-04 18:47:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,471
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25091116
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Srash/pseuds/Srash
Summary: Five months after the events in Prague, Adam Jensen travels to Berlin to meet the illusive leader of the Juggernaut Collective. This face to face meeting between Adam and Janus means danger for both since the Illuminati, the people behind everything happened all over the world, have their eyes and ears everywhere.
Comments: 8
Kudos: 16





	1. Berlin, 2029

**Author's Note:**

> I got the idea for this after I finished Mankind Divided and found that the ending left me with some unaswered questions. Also I wanna try something else out after one story of mine after another flopped so why not try another series?

The voice of the pilot sounded through the speakers, „Ladies and Gentlemen, we are now approaching Berlin. Please remain in your seats and fasten your seatbelts.” With flight attendants making sure all passengers did as they were told.

The pilot of flight number 1126 from Moscow to Berlin had a polite, relaxed tone in his voice, no sign of tension in his voice.

Not like as it had been for part of the one hundred and seventeen passengers, who appeared quite nervous during the entire flight. Not because of those minor turbulences the plane met but instead more caused by that man sitting in first class in his black trench coat. The man who put the glass of whiskey back on the tablet in front of his seat.

Metal fingers loosened from the fragile glass, left it undamaged.

Adam tasted the alcohol on his tongue, the flavor of the whiskey prickled in his nose but unfortunately did the daze remain absent. Apparently, the liver-augment worked perfect.

For only a moment did the passenger cabin shake as the plane set on the landing strip and began to slow down.

Touchdown in Berlin at nine thirty-four o’clock. Passport control sixteen minutes later. A faint hint of scare laid in the eyes of the inspector, suppressed by professionalism, more or less. “Your name and papers, please.”

Adam handed his travel- and ID papers over to the woman behind a plexiglass window. “The name Adam Jensen.” His voice monotone, calm. In his right hand, he held a suitcase.

Quickly, the airport inspector had the profile of Adam Jensen, an Interpol operative currently on vacation checked in Berlin on her screen.

“Is everything alright?” Adam questioned before he got his papers returned without any further banter.

“Everything is alright, Mister Jensen. Enjoy your stay in Berlin,” she answered the studied phrase with German accent, gentle with her lips forming a smile. It seemed honest.

As he walked out of the airport entrance, Adam’s sunglasses activated and his augmented eyes.

People passed him both human and augmented, entered and left the airport Berlin Brandenburg; some of them threw glances at him, mixed ones from interest to uninterested, wondered, appealed or disgusted, some even had fear written all over their faces. Someone passed him by and then, from a safe distance, turned over his shoulder to catch a glimpse of the man in the trench coat who went his way.

With a taxi, it was less of a fifteen-minute ride to Berlin, capital of Germany. In the dark of the night, this in the beginning steps of becoming a technologized metropolis sparkled bright; although far from being compared with towns like London or Paris, Berlin appeared to be on a good way forward.

Adam paid the driver and said, “You can keep the change.” To the augmented taxi driver who received quite the tip; someone like him, a man with wife and two children of which one had her left leg augmented, surely could make more use of the money than Adam could.

He entered the Mandala Hotel in central Berlin and checked in. He did not pay attention to the fact that this was a five star luxury hotel and from how the receptionist looked at him after he handed him over the keycard to his room, neither did he that Adam was an aug.

Of course his room was as luxury as the interior of the hotel, certainly worth several thousands of credits and that for _just one_ night.

Once he had closed the door, and turned his attention to the cause of his travel, he scanned the room with his retina-implant for any kind of surveillance devices. Bugs or cameras the size of a pinhead. Nothing seemed to be here however, the Interpol agent remained sceptic while he opened the suitcase he held the entire time in his hand.

A holographic module was inside. Adam placed it on the coffee table between two opposing chairs and activated it. It required a moment to boot and activate its program.

Eventually a woman dressed in an abstract, futuristic and nostalgic like dress, the black bob-haircut decorated with a black rose and her face so flawless that its authenticity could have been doubted.

However, this face possessed a make-believe human notion.

Eliza opened her gray eyes, smiled at first in relieve until she greeted Adam, “Good evening, Adam.”

“Good evening, Eliza,” He returned the kind gesture of the hologram as if it had been a handshake: polite ad yet impersonal.

Her face averted to the window her eyes in awe of the sight presented to them. “So this is what Berlin looks like,” She said with awe filling her voice. “Impressive.”

Surprised by her choice of words, Adam became curious about Eliza’s statement, asked if she ever had been in this city.

“I reported about it. Once on April 5th 2025 as the German government enacted Augmented-Equality Law, and then two years later during the time of the aug-incident.”

Eliza’s gaze turned to Adam as she answered the initial question, “But no, I haven’t been in Berlin until today.”

“I see.”

Adam approached the window and saw at the work in progress city of Berlin; despite the signs of augmentation in buildings, infrastructure and people, it also possessed many of its original, natural and _human_ elements. Berlin was far away from London and _even_ further from the almost futuristic panorama of San Francisco or Hengsha.

How long would it take until Berlin reached this point in its evolution, the point from where returning to _normal_ will be impossible?

Same time, the question came to mind if Berlin ever had been _normal_ to begin with. Arguably, since no other city of the world had such a history of change like Berlin.

From being the center of a fascist national state who brought war, chaos, death and destruction over the world to an into two split city-state for forty years with the Berlin Wall, reunited but still over years parted into two halves unable to become whole again. Later did Berlin become the ideal example for openness thanks to the _Augmented-Equality Law_. Said law prohibited any kind of discrimination and exclusion of augmented humans in every part of society, a law that came under fire after the 2027’s Aug-Incident.

However, this law had not been revoked.

Instead, Berlin showed itself steadfast against the chaos unlike cities like Prague fell victim to it.

“Adam, may I ask why I am here in Berlin?” Eliza Cassan inquired. “Why _we_ are here?”

Turning around to the holographic image of the once world-wide famous news reporter, Adam simply answered, “Because we have an invitation.”


	2. Like a Doll on a string

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adam is on his way to meet with Janus. While on route, he passes by a television screen and watches a news report brought to you by Eliza Cassan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to thank the people who left Kudos and even a Bookmark on the first chapter. That really keeps me motivated!

Adam walked down the stairs to the subway Potsdam Square, free of a restriction he was used to go through. In Berlin, there were no barriers like they were in Prague, no _only for augs_ passages telling them, that if they wanted to go to the subway, they had to take this specific route. Even police had not been as obvious with its presence; however, it did need much to tell a plainclothes cop walking amongst the civilians.

Blame their body language on that.

“So,” Eliza began the conversation via audio link. “We are going to meet with Janus.”

“That is correct,” Adam confirmed it again, after he told Eliza the whereabouts of their visit.

Curious, just like the reporter Eliza used to be, she asked, “For what purpose?”

And Adam was simple, yet also illusive about with his answer, “To get some answers.”

Since his mission in Prague and the events leading to his leave, Adam made demands to meet with the leader of the so-called _Juggernaut Collective_ , a worldwide operating group of hacktivists. He remembered how his liaison back then, Alex Vega attempted to explain him that such a meeting would be impossible, not least because no one, not even _she_ ever saw Janus face to face. Given how _popular_ Janus had been, a reasonable safety measure, but to Adam an unacceptable matter which eventually offering Alex a choice: either she makes a meeting with Janus possible, or-

He will find Janus.

Considering the tenacity Adam Jensen showed in such endeavors, this was a promise not to be underestimated.

Still though, Janus showed no intention of agreeing on a meeting, refused to approach Adam and to corroborate their mutually beneficial cooperation. _Cowardly_ might some call it, and they were right about it, but said persons might also praise Janus’s _caution_ if they looked against whom both he and his collective fought against. Would the Illuminati catch him, her, them, whatever Janus was, they certainly would not hesitate eliminating him, replace him with someone from their own ranks and then use the Juggernaut Collective to tighten their control over the world.

The fact that no one knew how Janus really looked like, might play perfectly into the enemy’s hands.

In the subway train, Adam used the time and observed people. Augmented and not-augmented in one and the same train cabin, no special seats or compartments augs _had_ to use, no sense of division between both kinds and still could Adam tell, that humans searched distance between them and the augs.

Station halt, people left and entered the train. A man stood up from his seat out of reflex when an aug set down next to him, their appearance unbothered. While the wrinkled face of that man showed slight fear. No one seemed to be bothered from it, barely took note of it. Even with that law in place, it certainly was not meant to dictate people to not be afraid of augs. Then a different picture, that of two augmented teenagers both standing up from their seats to offer it to an old woman. Gratitude decorated her face as she thanked them for their kindness.

Arriving at his final destination, the subway station at Berlin train station Friedrichstraße, Adam walked out of the train through other commuters until he had some space for himself again. He walked a few meters until his eyes stopped at a television screen. Nothing spectacular until the program switched to the _Picus News with Eliza Cassan._ Once the introduction jingle played together with the emblem of Picus TV, Eliza began to report about recent events around the globe.

“Again, turmoil happened within the Utulek-Complex. Lead by members of the _Augmented Rights Coalition_ , which since the tragic death of their leader Talos Rucker five months ago due to alcoholism found no end. According to eye witnesses, did members of the Arc assault a group of police officers who attempted to apprehend several violent rioters. At the same day, twenty augmented persons, all in connection to the ARC, were arrested.”

Apparently, after almost half a year, _Golem City_ still did not come to rest.

Eliza continued with reports about politicians oppose and sympathize with the _Human Restoration Act_ which, despite its vote result not being in favor of it.

A result Adam certainly helped to create after his actions in London, saving Nathaniel Brown and delegates of the UN who all were targets of a terroristic coup that if it succeeded, would have meant the end for every augmented person on the world.

Still, the debate whether or not augs should voluntarily have their augmentations removed and brought back to their _normal_ and _natural_ state, seemed to be still hot.

Following that news report, news about Kairo facing an imminent shortage of Neuropozyne. Given the fact that without Neuropozyne, every augmented person in the city will face suffering from the _rejection syndrome,_ numerous augmented persons came forward to be _restored_ voluntarily.

According To Eliza Cassan a _glimmer of hope_ in these times regarding the events from two years ago during the infamous _Aug-Incident,_ costing the lives of millions.

Well timed.

“Isn’t she adorable?” Eliza voice suddenly appear in Adam’s head asked him, almost as if she stood right next to him. “Like a doll on a string starts to talk once you pull the string and let go of it.”

Calm yet alarmed, Adam questioned her, “Eliza, how did you-?”

As her soft voice said, “Behind you, Adam.” And brought his attention avert to a surveillance camera directed at him.

“You hacked a camera? How?”

“Indirect. I diverted it or _utilized_ it to use polite words. And how? Adam, you of all people should know what I am capable of.”

Indeed.

“So you do that to observe me?”

“Not only. I do, what I was initially meant for: observe people, collect and evaluate data and decide what is relevant and what not.”

Her tone was kind, dressing the obvious into pretty, well-chosen words while Eliza performed her _work_ as reporter on a professional level.

Adam saw back at the screen, watched “Eliza” announce the news while simultaneously placed subtle and well-hidden messages against augmented humans combined with her leading the narrative of a report on that direction, that she could express her grief about the _incident_ two years ago.

Hard to tell whether she lied or told the truth. From a subjective point of view, those two sides were just as the different as two sides of a coin. In addition to this, there was the problem of Eliza being capable of spinning the news as she saw fit, make people see and listen to what they were supposed to see and hear without them realizing anything of this manipulation.

Ultimately, and this was Eliza’s most powerful weapon, was the _Aug-Incident_ from 2027. An event that especially for not augmented people lead to believe the _truth_ Eliza served them on a silver plate with sympathy for them and their loss. On the other side of the coin was the truth delivered by Janus and the Juggernaut Collective, a truth saying that giant companies all lead from a mysterious organization were behind the supposedly greatest loss in human life in this century. Unfortunately, due to their own fear of facing the Illuminati in broad daylight, especially Janus whose true face remains a mystery, no one believed them.

Cunning in its own way.

Adam left the subway station and found himself in Berlin’s bright, even at this late hour of the day, downtown.

Christmas time just found its end. However, buildings and streets still decorated for the festive time.

He wondered. When did he celebrated Christmas the last time?

Hard to say. Maybe before mercenaries had attacked Sarif Industries, before Adam became an augmented _miracle,_ before a simple search and rescue mission lead to a global catastrophe that split the world.

Although memories of Christmas were vague, Adam was sure, that he once celebrated Christmas.

Passing by cameras who were filming the streets, Adam found it impossible to not think about Eliza using all of them to watch the citizens of Berlin, and not just them. Every single person, Adam included, was watched by Eliza. Who went were to shopping, why does she stop at this shopwindow and the other did not, what was she reading from the lips of those three standing at the street light? What was important and what not? In which correlation stood X to Y? What would happen, if X spins so that Y offers a complete different view on the matter?

At the thought that this computer program, this _sophisticated AI_ had been face of a worldwide news program for years, always up to date on current events of any kind, the tragic aug-incident included and always used as underlining for how dangerous augmentations have become, one does not have to be a conspiracy theorist to see, how Eliza could have been used.

Berlin’s cityscape had been that of a city in change, unity, tradition in many different shapes and colors, faces, voices and ideas. Placards showed men and women, augmented or not, as models or advertisement for products. Cars, perfume, clothes or furniture. Movie signs embellished a cinema, party people, businesspersons, police offers, a woman handing out flyers for her play, homeless gathered in an alleyway.

Highrise buildings above them, sleek and elegant, modern, old or something in-between.

A city filled with diversity, one that seemed to oppose the chaos in the world around it hoping, it soon will end.

Now, Adam arrived at his final destination.

The Berlin Museum of History. At this hour, half-past eleven, obviously closed. However, as if by magic, like Adam had been expected the door unlocked and allowed him to enter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> While I wrote this analysis and thought process about how manipulative Eliza and the news are, it really got me thinking about how easy to make the people believe what you want them to believe when you tell them what they want to hear.


	3. New Man

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adam meets Janus in the Berlin Museum of History for a little chat about the meaning of security

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've got to be honest here and say that I am not 100% satisfied with this chapter. Might come from me being unable to finish it last week and then do it this week only with a single sentence which left me sit there like "Really, that's it?" because I struggled so much with it before. 
> 
> Okay, that week was quite a stressful one so reason for that could be there as well. 
> 
> Anyways, here is the next chapter and next week I start writing the following. Though I might as well consider to update this story every two weeks so I have more time to work on it.

_History of Human Evolution_ , that had been title for the exhibition Adam was summoned to. A simple demonstration of how the human race developed, shown in the all known classic way of the ape that walks on all fours to the first human-ape continuing with the on two legs walking human or _Homo Erectus_ followed by the _Homo Sapiens_ , today’s human.

Here, the lineage was supposed to end but instead did in continue with the _Homo Neo_ , the _New_ Man. Augmented, improved, new and better than his predecessors. The next step in human evolution.

Now further than ever.

Those puppets appeared so lively even in the dimmed light of the museum. Adam looked at the last of the four puppets and felt strange the longer he looked at it.

Suddenly, a female voice was to hear, “It is a shame, isn’t it?” And Adam turned his attention to its direction.

A woman walked into sight, dressed in a silver business suit with white high-heeled shoes. She had her hairs short, blonde with black strands.

“A shame?” Adam put on the act as if two persons meeting late at in a museum was totally normal.

“That the human evolution will stand still,” She answered and pointed at the Homo Neo figurine. “The Homo Neo, who barely saw the light of the world, is condemned to darkness and its end.”

An interesting point of view and look at the situation. “Funny, I thought the Human Restoration Act has been off the table, now that the danger for augmented people is gone.” His argument nothing but a bait.

One she without hesitation took with a smile, “Off the table? Yes. But certainly not off the world, Agent Jensen.”

So she knew his name. That meant she knew who he was and moreover, why Adam had been here in the Berlin Museum of History.

“Janus, I suppose.”

“Correct.”

“The real one?”

“That is left to you.”

So much for _Face to Face._ Apparently was Janus still not ready to play with open cards towards Adam. Which is why he decided to leave. “We’re done here.”

“Agent Jensen,” She then spoke stern. “Where do you think, you’re going?”

With his back to her, no intention to turn around and face this _Janus_ again, Adam delivered a reasonable explanation, “I am fairly sure that requested to meet the _real_ Janus and not one of his proxies.”

Unimpressed from what he said, she simply asked, “Who said, that I am a proxy?” No doubt in her voice, as if she honestly believed that she could convince Adam to think that she had been Janus.

Adam turned himself back to face the woman pretending to be Janus. He mustered her thoroughly, from those neatly made blonde hair down to her designer shoes, the steadfast expression her body gave off and the confidence of a business CEO which, as Adam assumed it, had been send here taking the role of someone else. Giving the benefit of a doubt, no one ever saw Janus’s true face, besides Adam who had been shown a rather cryptic image of a constantly changing face. That is how he, she or they introduced themselves to him in Prague.

Possibly this could be Janus, the _real_ Janus, however the very same possibility that she was not Janus existed as well.

It was like flipping a coin.

“Fine then,” Adam decided and came back to her. “I play along.”

Again she put on a smile, one close to appear honest and real, almost like Eliza’s smile. “Excellent. Now, why don’t we walk a little and enjoy the exhibition?”

To walk through a museum at late night was different. Exhibits appeared far less impressive as when they bathed in light from the sun or the light meant to present them.

“You look for answers,” Janus instigated the conversation. “To what questions?”

Adam raised an eyebrow; just where should he start? “Questions like how for example, do your global actions help anyone?”

He went with something _easy_ in order to break the ice.

“As ironic as it might sound to you, Mister Jensen, but we do this for the sake of security.”

Indeed, it sounded ironic. Given that the Juggernaut Collective crippled cities as well as entire countries. Companies worth billions going bankrupt from one second to the next, traffic networks fallen together like they were a card house or states ruled suddenly from a child.

“How can your actions be for the sake of security when they were the direct opposite? Spreading chaos, endangering countless lives for no reason but _safety_? I cannot believe it.”

She shrugged, sighed as she repeated what she said before, “As I said, it is _ironic_.”

“From the perspective of a layman, who lacks the ability to notice the connections between such actions, it all appears as nothing else than acts of terrorism. However, those who know against who we fight or at least are capable to see beyond the surface it is easy to see, what our goal is.”

“Said goal is?”

“Adam, do you remember Panchaea?”

How could he not? Panchaea had been the origin of all evil. A place build by augmented humans meant to pioneer the potential of augmentations, of this _new generation_ of men. Until one fateful day when Hugh Darrow, Father of the Augmentation Technology destroyed this new bright future with a single press on a button.

Adam was there, saw how those humans who have been part of creating humanity’s next age instead created one of humanity’s greatest catastrophes. But not only on Pachaea. The entire world fell victim to Hugh Darrow’s madness, his _Icarus_ as he described it back then poetic. Unfortunately even the most poetic, well-chosen and beautiful words could never hide the fact that Hugh Darrow committed an act close to genocide.

Adam shrugged, “I remember how I destroyed it.”

“Humor certainly is not a strong suit of you, Jensen,” Janus pointed out rather unimpressed.

But Adam argued against, “I cannot remember to have made a joke.”

Only to receive Janus’s “Neither did I, Adam.” Response with a voice as sharp as a blade made out of titan.

“Panchaea was a wakeup call for humanity. Humans with augmentations slaughtered everyone around them, lost control over their augs and were helpless against the madness, a single man with a remote unleashed. Now imagine if this button on Darrow’s remote would be a _kill switch_. One push and every augmented human, every man, woman or child with augmentations was dead immediately. Millions of people, an _entire race_ if you want it dramatic, wiped from existence just like that.”

Truly a troublesome thought. One that made clear that if this had been Darrow’s intent, he would not stand here next to an automobile from the early years of the twentieth century.

“Can you now understand our intentions when I say that we do it for the sake of security, Mister Jensen? Do you see what is beneath the surface?”

Quickly did Adam connect the dots and drew a conclusion out of what Janus said, “I think so. You want to show the world that no system is perfect. That everything can be changed with a single press on a switch. In view of Panchaea and its aftermath, this means that security is nothing but an illusion you seek to destroy.”

Janus was quick to correct Adam, “Security is no _illusion_ , Mister Jensen. Instead security should better not be held as high as it is. Hugh Darrow showed the world very clearly how dangerous his augmentation technology is, while we show the world, how _save_ their systems are.”

“Are you aware just how many people became endangered just because you wanted to make _a statement_? How many have died?” Adam questioned Janus as if he was to prosecute her.

Unimpressed, face completely neutral to this, Janus counter-questioned him, “Are _you_ aware how many humans have died at the day of the incident? Only for one man’s statement?”

“So this is it? A game of numbers? One justifies their actions measured by the number of casualties produced?” A raw voice, filled with anger and revolted about how Janus justified not only her, but that actions of the Juggernaut Collective as a whole to him.

To think that he worked together with such people appalled every fiber of his being.

Yet Janus only looked at him without a single word leaving her mouth, apparently lost in a thought process to find the right words. Adam’s words seemed to have affected her more than expected.

Suddenly, a male voice came out of nowhere, “If you look at it this way, Agent Jensen-“ Followed by a man decloak himself. He was about Adam’s height with short black hair and solver eyes, dressed in a suit similar to what Janus wore.

Alarmed did Adam go into a defense stance. Asking himself how he had been unable to see this man earlier; his retina augmentations were advanced enough to see through any kind of cloaking.

“And you are, if I may ask?”

The smile this man put on, it appeared almost similar to Janus’s when she met him.

“My name is Janus. Good evening, Agent Jensen.”


	4. One name, many faces

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The truth behind Janus and the Juggernaut Collective are about to be revealed to Adam. Unfortunately, so does another truth.

He should have known. Adam should have known better. Again he finds himself in a situation where things do not appear as they should.

“This is a joke, right?” A question directed at both Janus, the man who joined him and the woman who previously introduced herself as _Janus_ to Adam.

She answered his question, “With all due respect, Mister Jensen-“ But at the same time did the man’s lips move as well.

“But I am certainly not here to make _jokes_.” The man finished the sentence while the woman’s lips moved, syllables and words formed but not a single vocal sound ran over them.

Nevertheless did Adam’s face tell that he was full of reasonable doubts, “Really? Because I cannot get rid of this feeling of playing in a comedy show, a _bad_ comedy show.”

Janus had to agree, “I can understand your concerns, Jensen. However, this again is just another safety measure of myself.”

Myself? Two persons stood in one room together with Adam, both claiming to be Janus and then talking about necessary safety measures for _myself_? “So I can assume that you, he, her, both are not Janus?”

She said, “Yes.”

He said, “And no.”

Slowly but surely did Adam ran out of patience. His interest, if he ever had any to begin with, to play this game. Going for a different approach, he told _Janus_ , him, her, both or whoever made him look like a fool right now one last chance to explain themselves. Otherwise, so Adam things will become _unpleasant_ for all attendees.

An empty threat obviously, one that did not manage to make Janus feel in danger.

“For your sake I hope this threat was not meant to inspire fear,” Janus questioned Adam’s attempt; it appeared to be difficult to follow their words when Janus switched between man and woman as he spoke with two ventriloquist's dummies.

“It was worth the attempt,” Adam argued in his defense.

Then it seemed that the woman had enough of this charade, “Very well, Mister Jensen. I guess we wasted enough of your and my time on this. Allow me to answer your questions and please, do interrupt me. First of all, neither of _us_ is Janus but at the same time we are. However are we no Proxys, doppelganger or some somewhat artificial being that only appears to be human while in fact is nothing but silicone, wires and white fluid as transmission fluid.”

“So,” Adam began to ask, “What are you?”

“We both are member of the Juggernaut Collective as well as we both are Janus.”

One moment. He and her both were as much Janus as they both were _members_ of the Juggernaut Collective? “How is this possible?”

Unless…no, that is not possible.

“Your assumptions are correct, Mister Jensen.” The man confirmed the unspoken thought Adam had. “The Juggernaut Collective, in fact, _is_ Janus. Every single member of the collective is Janus.”

Adam, despite in shock of this revelation, remained calm and emotionally untouched when he asked if Alex Vega, his Prague contact from the Collective, had been _Janus_ as well. If so, she would have lied to him the entire time they worked together.

A most unpleasant thought.

“No.” Janus pacified him. “I abstained from making her _Janus_ due to her closeness to you.”

Adam immediately pressed on this statement, “My…what? Closeness?”

What he explained in detail, “Mister Jensen, you are most likely the enemy of the state in the eyes of the Illuminati.”

To what she added, “What means that everyone close to you either is a potential target or member of the Illuminati.”

Reasonable.

“But Vega is member of the collective, right?”

“Yes.”

No _but no_ this time? Adam rose an eyebrow to express his confusion.

“Agent Vega had multiple contacts in her past which were in close contact to the Illuminati or underlings of them. Nevertheless, I see no reason to exclude her or consider her a threat to the collective. Instead Alex Vega serves us well as…source of information.”

“So you spy even on your members? That says a lot about your morals.”

Janus smirked. “Adam, those who join the Collective give away everything he or she had been for the greater good. Every member is obliged to open himself or herself completely towards the entire Juggernaut Collective. They are fully aware that once they have made this step, there is no return.”

“That is indeed a great price you demand.” Adam accused them.

“It is a mighty enemy we fight Adam. What is one life compared to all those lives controlled by the Illuminati without them even knowing? What are two lives compared to those we might save by meeting you here in Berlin tonight?”

An almost poetic Janus delivered here. Despite that, their choice of words possessed a true core.

Suddenly all lights inside the exhibition hall turned on destroying the secret mood of the meeting. Immediately did Adam and Janus look around to find the source behind this until a series of footsteps reached them. At first, Adam could not believe the sight his retina implants got.

“You?”

“Good Evening Adam, how are you today?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote the majority of this chapter in one day, or rather three to four hours at work and was kinda surprised how fast and well it went. While I also realized that I completely lost track of what I originally planned to write, or at least one element which now can't be saved because the plot reached the dramatic turn. 
> 
> Shit happens. 
> 
> Nevertheless I do look forward to finish this story as satisfying as possible, because nobody is perfect.


	5. Goodbye, Janus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Retina augments, they curse and blessing.

Retina implants were blessing and curse all at the same time. Nothing could pass by a well-augmented eye, its abilities to read and tell even the smallest of changes in a person’s mimic, not even a flinch that could mean nothing to them, but a lot to who confronted them did not remain unnoticed. Cloaking devices also proved to be no problem, a retina implant could be designed to cover and see through the entire infrared spectrum. With ease could a sniper see their target kilometers in distance away as clear as if they would stand right in front of it.

This and many other things were in the repertoire of Adam’s retina implant. Nevertheless was there one thing, they were unable to do.

Namely to deceive him.

Delara Auzenne, a criminal psychologist Adam worked together with in Prague, presented herself to Adam in Berlin’s Museum of History. Back then, she showed a certain interest for him or rather, his person. Like Adam, the Aug Incident as well has affected her two years ago; in her case, a little girl jumped out of the window, right in front of her eyes.

And now, five months after they have seen each other, Delara stood there with brown eyes focused on not only Adam, but also the man and woman addressing themselves as Janus.

“Delara? What are you doing here?” Adam asked her immediately.

She gave him a kind smile first. “For the same reason you are here, Adam.” Unconcerned, she appeared as if invited to this top-secret meeting late at night. “To meet Janus.”

What?!

Adam and Janus seemed shocked, evaded a step back as Delara suddenly pulled out a gun, targeted the man and pulled the trigger. A loud bang followed by an even louder, painful scream from him as he fell down onto the ground grabbing his injured leg reflexively.

“Pjotr!” She yelled about to haste to him but there did Delara interrupt him by aiming the barrel of her weapon onto her now.

Adam shouted at her, “Delara, what the hell are you-?!” With his eyes focused on the bleeding man on the tile floor.

“Don’t worry, Adam.” Did Delara reassure him, her tone calm and therapeutic, like this was one of her appointments. “I do not intend to hurt those two. Not when they are still needed.”

That did Adam not understand. For what purpose could Delara Auzenne, a psychotherapist who got more up their sleeve as expected, need two members of the Juggernaut Collective? Studying her shortly, recognized the pistol model in her hand as one with only nine rounds, minus one fire, left eight bullets. Enough to kill with her aim in regard to how she managed to land a clean shot through the man’s leg. Though he bled, Delara seemed to have miss a vital artery. Not bad besides the fact that she just shot another person.

“What exactly do you want with these two hackers?” He asked curious, apparently on alert due to the situation.

She rose an eyebrow to that last word. “Hackers?” Laughed a little before she gave Adam a little lecture, “Adam, do you have any idea, who these two are? These are Pjotr and Anastasia Nikiforov, also known as the _Telepath-Twins._ ” Delara saw at both Pjotr and Anastasia flinched once their identity has been exposed.

Of those two individuals did Adam hear, not to mention the hard to mistake how much the two resembled each other. However, to think that these two were the medical wonder and phenomenon of human augmentation, that came unexpected.

“Pjort and Anastasia Nikiforov, born in Volgograd on November 18th 1987. Fraternal, conjoined twins with their heads grown together. After their parting they suffered severe brain damages only repaired by multiple cerebral augmentations. One including a-.”

Delara could not finish that sentence as Anastasia finished it for her, “Connection of our two brains.”

Were the situation another, Adam would show interest for how this connection of two human brains via augmentations worked, its benefits and disadvantages but unfortunately did someone point a gun on them.

“Adam, why are you so silent all of a sudden? That is not normal for someone so talkative like you,” Delara provoked while she still had this relaxed pitch in her voice. She seemed to wait for whatever Adam might come up with, to twist his words to her own advantage questioning the motivation behind that statement or question of Adam. 

Adam decided to turn tables, “I only wonder, what a simple psychologist does with the Illuminati or how she managed to become member of them. Furthermore considering what they are responsible for.” Subtly talking about the Aug-Incident provoked by the Illuminati’s ambitions to use Hugh Darrow’s augmentation technology to control humanity only to see how he turns their plans not only to dust, but also to something close of a genocide.

“By looking at the greater picture, Adam.” Delara reasoned herself. “The Illuminati aim to bring order to the world. End chaos once and for all.”

How noble. Nevertheless, for what price? Was it worth to oppress all of humanity to bring order to the world? Replace individual freedom for a collective utopia? A utopia forced into line and where everyone considered being a nuisance terminated. In the current case the nuisance presented to be Juggernaut Collective and the chaos it caused world-wide meant as counter measure to the Illuminati’s plans.

Adam questioned her reasoning, “So you say that as long as the end justifies the means, you are willing to sacrifice as many human lives as necessary?” Having his doubts that this was what she truly thought to believe.

Delara smiled confident in what she said then, “I do. In some way, there is a fascinating irony in all this. We aim for order and are willing to make every sacrifice necessary to achieve this, and the other side the Juggernaut Collective aims to bring chaos ready to pay whatever the price is.”

The whole time she spoke with that calm sound of a psychologist, analytic and gentle as if this was another therapy session.

Suddenly, a shot. Delara screamed as she got at the shoulder, pulled the trigger of her weapon however missed Anastasia by a hair’s breadth. Quickly did she ran to her brother Pjotr who fired the rescuing shot with a well-hidden pistol and saw after his injury. A straight shot through his leg, according to his face painful but luckily missed arteries.

“Are you okay?” She asked concerned. Pjotr answer came with him just kidding about how that wound was nothing, a bottle of vodka could not solve. Anastasia rolled with her eyes calling him idiot and then helped him to stand up, as in-between Delara’s pain filled voice echoed through the museum hall.

“Don’t you…dare to think…that you can escape me!”

Pjotr and Anastasia only looked at her while Adam walked towards her. Slow steps, face absolutely neutral and sunglasses retracted as Delara made the attempt to raise the arm to aim at him, but the pain she felt combined with the loss of blood made it impossible for her to hold the gun any longer. Her hand was shaking to the point where Adam simply took the gun out of it and her hand fell down on the cold tile floor.

“You should have stayed a therapist, Delara.” Adam suggested her.

To which she only answered with a self-confident laugh, “And you should have stayed in Detroit.”

“Mister Jensen!” Anastasia suddenly reached Adam’s ears. “We’re getting company.”

A group of armed soldiers stormed inside the hall, guns aimed at the three however, Adam had been faster. Fast as lighting he fired two titan blades from his arm that hit two mercenaries in the chest and brought them to the ground. Same time he activate his titan armor augment that blocked incoming bullets entirely. Quickly did the three take cover, Anastasia took Pjotr’s gun and fired precise at the enemies.

Each shot a hit but their damage remained minimal due to their body armor.

“Old way it is then.” She took her shoes off, handed the weapon over to her brother and told him then to take care of the shoes seconds before Anastasia disappeared in a cloak field.

Adam’s titan armor has reached its zenith and turned off, three bullets remained in the magazine of his gun as well as two blades in the left arm. Not the brightest chances until suddenly one mercenary hit the ground, disarmed and before he even had gotten a chance to realize what just happened, been killed by his own weapon. His comrades acted fast but not fast enough as to pull the trigger in time before they have been literally executed; one by one, shot in the head with utmost precision of an assault rifle.

Six men fell down all dead. Though to be sure, did the decloaking Anastasia shot each of them twice into the torso to make certain that they were actually dead.

At last, Anastasia walked to the previously self-confident and still on the floor lying Delara. Silence returned to the hall, blood stained the floor. Delara appeared taken by fear especially when Anastasie aimed the barrel of her gun right at her face.

Adam screamed, “No! Stop!” But there did the woman already pull the trigger.

No shot was to hear, only the click of an empty gun Anastasia threw then away. Delara, whose face said that she already made her prayers, saw how the woman who minutes ago appeared to be harmless, then shot her entire squad bow down to her and say, “This is for my brother, cyka.” And punched her in the face.

One punch proved to be enough to knock her unconscious. If she had used a little bit more strength, her punch might have broken Delara’s jaw but instead, Anastasia just knocked her out.

As soon as payment has been paid, Anastasia returns to her brother Pjotr and Adam, the latter amazed from her talent and mercy for Delara. Anastasia shrugged, gave no further comment yet her look told him enough as to guess that Delara could count herself lucky that she did not kill Pjotr.

“And what do we do now? Certainly that those weren’t the only ones.” Adam strongly doubted that the Illuminati would only send a psychologist and a handful mercenaries to eliminated their most powerful adversary.

“I think so too. We should leave immediately.” Pjotr suggested to the two others who favored it.

Anastasia and Pjotr lead Adam to a secret emergency exit below the museum. They expected every other exit to be guarded by enemy troops, but most likely not the way that lead to the sewer tunnel under the Berlin Museum of History. Walking through abominably stinking water, Anastasia lead Pjotr and Adam to a maintenance shaft a few hundred meters ahead of them.

“I can’t believe, you left my shoes back!” Anastasia yelled at Pjotr.

He sighed, “What good would they be now? It’s not like we can keep those clothes, right?” While the three continued to wade through things better not further named until they reached a latter that went upwards.

Anastasia climbed up first agreeing with Pjotr, “Certainly not. Especially not considering what comes next.”

“Are you insane?” Pjotr complained terrified. “In this season?”

“Pjotr.” Anastasia talked down to him from above. “Do you have a better idea?”

“I wish I had.”

In a backyard, a gully cover pushed up and to the side. Anastasia climbed out first followed by her brother and finally Adam, all three of them delighted to be out of this…whatever that place was.

Adam closed the gully behind them and then turned to both Anastasia and Pjotro Nikiforov, the two Janus, “Am I correct to assume that neither of you is going to tell me why Delara Auzenne, a member of TF-29, ambushed us by the orders of the Illuminati or why you two are so important for the Illuminati?”

He was not correct.

“We have been aware of Miss Auzenne’s _special position_ within TF-29 since she appeared in Prague. In fact it became obvious once we hacked her mail account and went through several well encrypted mails. Her ability to disguise a psychological report as observation report is indeed remarkable, but she made a terrible mistake.”

“A mistake? Delara never seemed to be the kind of person, who makes mistakes.”

“Her mistake was her focus on you, Adam. Although Delara used different phrasings in regard to _different_ persons, it was obvious that she talked about you the whole time.”

Interesting. So not only was Delara a traitor, spy and operative of the Illuminati, but on top of that also crazy in love with Adam.

Fantastic.

“However, we did not expect her to have a more active position within the Illuminati’s organization. To us she always made the impression of a therapist who desired nothing less than order in this world.”

“With a little bit of an obsession for her co-worker, noted.”

“And Miss Auzenne’s interest into us two…well for that you would have to take a look into our cerebral augments. As you now know Adam, are both mine and Pjotr’s brain connected what not just only saved our lives, but also-“

“Remains unique up to this day.” Pjotr finished the sentence of her twin-sister. “No one else on the world has augments this complex in their brains.”

Adam thought about it, concluded what he learned just right with what Anastasia and Pjotr told him about the Juggernaut Collective. Augments of this kind made information exchange not only fast, but also much safer than between any other devices no matter the encryption. A device could be hacked but the human brain? The most efficient super computer? Impossible. Meaning that Anastasia and Pjotr had the most secure and isolated data base in the world. Additionally, this system had full access to the network of the Juggernaut Collective; whatever information the collective assembled, these two could store it within their brains and redistribute it to the entire collective without endangering themselves.

Now it became clear, why the Illuminati were so interested in getting the two into their hands. If Delara would have succeeded tonight, the Illuminati would just have to open up their augments and voila, they would have access to the _entire_ Juggernaut Collective without anyone of its members taking note of it.

Even if though, it would be too late. The damage would be done and in less than a few minutes, every single of its operatives would be exposed and therefore dead.

Pjotr pulled an oldschool mobile phone out of his pocket. “ _Sestra_ , it is time.”

Anastasia nodded. “ _Da_.” And then began suddenly took off her clothes just as her brother did.

Much to Adam’s surprise.

As the two twins stood bare naked in front of Adam, Pjotr operated the phone.

Suddenly, everything turned black.

The entire city of Berlin engulfed in darkness causing people everywhere to panic. Police sirens howled and cars crashed together as the city fell into chaos.

“ _Do svidaniya_ , Adam.“ Anastasia said to Adam.

In the next moment were all lights back on. Adam stood alone in the back yard with two ruined suits on the cold ground, confused at first. For whatever reason he tried to find them with his retina implant but, their cloak was perfect.

Adam smiled, laughed a little.

“Goodbye, Janus.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just as I was uploading this chapter, I realized how superficial it is. Neither did I went further into why Delara and her motivation to be member of the Illuminati, nor did I create actual conflict between her and Adam once it is revealed. 
> 
> Not my best work.


	6. Aftermath and Departure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Three hours later, Berlin returned to its former self.

“…happening in the city of Berlin, a massive blackout fortunately only lasted a few minutes. Hospitals and police stations report minor damages to people and city, no causalities and reassurance that the situation has been under control. If this stands in any relationship to the shooting heard from the Historical Museum of Berlin and the bodies found there cannot be answered until the investigation ended.”

Eliza finished her breaking news report to yesterday’s events in Berlin, signed off with her casual slogan and the channel changed to the normal program.

“She did well,” Eliza commented _her_ performance.

Adam laughed, turned his glance from the television to the window of his hotel room and asked, “You think?”

“I’m a good reporter, Adam,” the hologram of her returned. “The _best_ if I may say.”

She was right, and Adam acknowledged it.

Three hours later after the blackout, Berlin appeared as if nothing had happened. It shimmered in the darkness of night, sirens filled the streets, police and ambulance cars. City still in emergency. Most likely, for the rest of this evening until the early morning, then Berlin would appear just as calm as it was before Adam arrived.

As if he never had been there.

“And now, Adam? What is our next step?” Eliza asked curious, gaze directed to Adam as she sat on the sofa. She used the limited range of her projector and her own collision detection to make it look like she actually sat.

Adam thought. The matters he had here in Berlin appeared to be finished. With great possibility, Janus already left town and Delara…well that remains to be seen. Surely this had not been the last time he and her met, for that her interest in Adam was too great. Maybe she would reappear at TF-29, conceal her injuries and tell a believable story about their origin. Maybe she would make a joke to lift the mood, while she and Adam knew exactly, where these injuries came from.

Still, he could not believe that Delara Auzenne worked for the Illuminati.

Whom could he trust?

“First we should leave Berlin,” Adam suggested just as he received a call through his infolink.

Miller’s voice addressed him loud and clear, “Jensen!” Hurry clear to listen in his voice.

Exactly what he needed, “Miller, how can I help you?” A new mission that brings him out of his city.

“Are you responsible for the blackout in Berlin?” Miller asked without hesitation, aware where his top agent has been currently, yet not for what reason.

Neither able to tell the truth nor lying, Adam decided to go the way in-between, “In some way, but it was not my intention.”

He heard how Miller sighed, amused and annoyed, before he came back to the reason behind his call, “Duly noted. Now, you and your expertise with local reporters is required in Paris. Apparently, members of _Silhouette_ organized a crusade against the French government and named Interpol as one of their sources.”

 _Silhouette_ , another result of his work in Prague. It seemed as if this town would haunt him for a while.

“Understood, I will be in Paris by tomorrow,” Adam confirmed the assignment.

“Marvelous, we send you a car. Miller out.”

Adam shrugged, relaxed as he prepared himself for the night ride. It has been at least two days since he slept the last time.

“When you like, I can drive,” Eliza suggested to him then. Surprised, Adam turned to her.

“You eavesdropped us?”

Eliza smirked at him innocent, “You should think about encrypting your info link better.”

He would be mad at her, until Adam realized that Eliza just did what she was programmed for and more or less did without even taking note of it. 

God knows only who thought it had been wise to program the care for people’s privacy out of Eliza.

“Can you drive?” Adam asked his companion, same time the message that a car had been parked in front of the hotel appeared in his inner eye.

Eliza stood up from the sofa and walked back onto the projector. She answered, “Now I can.” and disappeared.

The projector turned itself off and Adam put it back into the suitcase. He left the room, unused. Checking out, the receptionist gave him an irritated look as he just checked in hours before. Adam walked out of the hotel to meet the black sports car prepared for him.

From Berlin’s cold night air into the car, Adam put the case onto the passenger seat, started the engine and drove away to his next destination.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It is easy for me to review this fic as I already noticed at the previous chapter that I did some mistakes. Best example is that I lost track of my original idea because I had a writing slump during the second chapter and from that it went kinda downhill. Though I would not say that it went so bad, I have to admit to myself that if I had written a script for the story, it wouldn't have gone the way it went. 
> 
> Delara could have been a much greater threat to Adam, the twins also had potential I simply did not use because I had no real idea what to do with them and in the end I did my best to make the best. And Eliza? Damn what a missed opportunity. She was meant to be the star of this story which in the end is just sad that I didn't wrote it that way. 
> 
> Could I have done it better? Yes. Do I see and accept the mistakes I made? Yes, absolutely.   
> Question now is "Would I rewrite it and make the changes/write the original idea?" and my answer is a clear No. From my perspective, it'll be disrespectful to myself and the work I have done. Only thing to learn from this is to make a script and follow that script. A prepared script could have prevented me from losing track and write into a complete different, not wrong, direction.   
> That is the lesson I learned from this story. 
> 
> It is not my best work, but also not my worst. It is something between both and that is satisfying enough for me. It was fun for me to write, exciting because I wrote something new but also gave me a very important teaching. 
> 
> Thank you all for reading this story.


End file.
